Outside-In
by GoddessofDawn7843
Summary: Semi-AU. Bruce Wayne is back from the dead – with his title as Batman now belonging to somebody else, he takes up a new identity, but, is he a hero, or something else entirely? Meanwhile, Diana is attacked by a mysterious masked-man with powers similar to her own and that of the League's powerhouses. Unsure why, she feels they have met before…
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Semi-AU. Bruce Wayne is back from the dead – with his title as Batman now belonging to somebody else, he takes up a new identity, but, is he a hero, or something else entirely? Meanwhile, Diana is attacked by a mysterious masked-man with powers similar to her own and that of the League's powerhouses. Unsure why, she feels they have met before…

**A/N:** Ugh, okay, sucky summary, but I'll work on it later – I actually do have a plan for this story, it came to me after watching _James Bond, Skyfall_ and I was struck with inspiration.

Oh, and another quick note, this is pretty much based off of the Batman serial _Bruce Wayne: The Road Home_ – if you've read the comic, you may recognize some of the stuff that's in here, if you have not, read the note at the end.

This is a little more serious than what I usually write, but, here's hoping for the best anyway! Now, onwards!

May I present, **Outside-In. **Enjoy.

**[EDITED 2013/10/21]**

**Disclaimer:** Uh… no. No I do not own Batman, Wonder Woman or the _Justice League_.

* * *

**~Chapter One~  
**_Of Three-Eyed Men & Wasted Opportunities_

* * *

"_There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one."_  
- Kazuo Ishiguro

* * *

**Wonder Woman**

* * *

_**Gateway City…  
**__Midnight_

Men just never learn.

I stood firm as round after round of ammunition was being emptied out in an attempt to try and stop me from getting to the thugs, sparks flying as the bullets hit my bracelets and was promptly deflected off of them with a loud metallic clamour that echoed through the warehouse – as if that would ever be enough to keep me distracted for too long.

"What the hell!" one of the thugs shouted, standing next to a shooter, the panic obvious in his voice. "Shoot her again!"

"I'm trying! The bitch doesn't want to go down!" the other exclaimed.

I felt a prickle of irritation at their crude language and barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. But, when the gun ceased firing, I saw my chance.

"Reload! Reload!" the thug shouted as the other fumbled with the gun.

"I'm- Oh crap!" My fist then squarely connected with the shooter's jaw, knocking him out instantly. As the other backed away, I took the gun and crushed it between my hands, throwing it sideways before turning my attention to the last remaining thug.

He pulled a knife and was holding it in front of himself defensively. "Stay back! I'm warning you, Wonder Woman, I'll-!" He didn't get to finish his sentence.

With a sudden burst of speed, quicker than what he was expecting, punched him in the stomach – with a pained grunt, he stumbled back as the knife fell to the ground.

I punched him again, once in the chest, and once more in the stomach before he finally collapsed on the dirty floor, still conscious but not in a state to get up again.

Wiping my hands against each other, I then turned around – several other men laid strewn all over the place, some groaning, most sprawled over the ground, one or two having been thrown into a pile of crates.

I huffed slightly before I strode over to the exit, several police cars waiting for me outside. Men in uniform looking at each other with uncertainty, pistols at the ready – not, I thought, that they would have to use them…

I found the looks on the young officer in charge somewhat amusing, that familiar mixture of astonishment and admiration. He then shook his head. "Wonder Woman," he managed, straightening him.

"Officer," I addressed, nodding in acknowledgement.

"I-it's Blake, Captain Matt Blake," he corrected quickly. "Anyway, thanks for going in there. We've been trying to crack down on these guys for weeks."

"I'm sure you and your men would have handled the situation fine even if I hadn't intervened." I said matter-of-factly.

"Still, we're grateful for the assistance. Besides, that was pretty awesome…" When he noticed my slightly upturned eyebrow, he cleared his throat awkwardly before ordering the rest of the policemen inside.

"Do I need to make a statement?" I asked eventually.

"What? Oh, no, that's fine, I'll have that covered." He said, I noticed he was a little red in the face.

"Very well, I'll-" My sentence was cut off prematurely when I caught something out of the corner of my eye.

Turning my back on the officer, I looked up and saw what looked like the silhouette of a man standing on one of the opposing warehouses' rooftop, his back against the full moon – what was even odder than that was the fact that he had three bright red lights for eyes as opposed to two, the third set in the middle of the forehead.

"Wonder Woman?" Blake said, his voice for some reason seemed rather distant to me.

When the silhouette saw that I was looking back at him, he backed away.

I blinked. Had he… been watching me?

Just as Blake looked up to see what I was looking at, he was gone.

"I have to go." I said immediately, leaving the officer before he had a chance to say anything else as I took off flying, my mind set on following the strange three-eyed man.

* * *

**?**

* * *

He leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease, practically feeling the energy as it surged through his suit. When he started slowing down, somewhere in the background, he heard a cool metallic voice announce, **"**_**SF Regeneration Time: 3:59:00.**_**"**

Damn, he thought, slowing down to a mild jog before stopping completely. He looked over his shoulder, mentally cursing himself –he didn't want her to see him … and yet, when she did-

He clenched his fist. No. Seeking her out on purpose wasn't part of the plan to begin with. It was a mistake on his part. Full stop.

He was a good distance away right now – there was a chance, a _slight_ chance, that he might have lost her. Though, in all honesty, he seriously doubted that.

"_**SF Regeneration Time: 3:37:38."**_

His doubt was reaffirmed when, just as he approached the ledge of the roof, when the very woman he had tried to avoid (and yet sought out anyway), rose up suddenly and occupied the airspace right in front of him – black curls shining in the moonlight, arms crossed over her armoured chest, bright blue eyes narrowed as she looked down at him.

Yes. It was a mistake. But oddly, he wasn't regretting it at the moment.

He backed away again, slowly. She gauged his reaction for a moment before touching down, her expression guarded.

"Who are you?" she said.

"_**SF Regeneration Time: 3:04:58."**_

He didn't answer her. Three minutes. He needed to distract her for three minutes.

"I said, who are you?" she repeated, the corners of her lips pulling down in agitation. "Why were you watching me?"

His hand twitched to the belt around his waist. She noticed this immediately, and her posture turned from defensive to offensive in a heartbeat, readying herself.

Well, he thought wryly, pulling out a small sphere, At least things just got a lot more interesting now.

It all happened very quickly. She was in the air again, about to come at him when he threw the sphere to the ground – it burst open on contact and a thick lair of smoke was released into the air.

This threw her for a moment. _**"HV Mode Active: 00:15 Percent."**_ A concentrated beam of red energy then shot out of his eyes and straight at her – it wasn't enough to do any permanent harm, but it was enough to stop her temporarily.

Seeing the beam come at her, she instantly crossed her arms in front of her – the beam reflecting upwards, resembling a searchlight, when it struck the silver bracelets on her wrists.

"_**SF Regeneration Time: 2:45:38."**_

Fantastic.

With a look of concentration, she then adjusted her wrists so that the beams lowered down and redirected it back at him. He got out of the way and ceased the beam immediately.

"_**HV Mode Regeneration Time: 4:59:00." "CM Mode Active."**_

Before she could come at him again, the suit suddenly radiated with blue light before becoming completely transparent – her fist was about to land when his face was when it struck thin air instead.

She went rigid. She kept her composure, looking like she was listening intently.

When she heard something coming up to her left, she spun around and just managed to block the invisible fist with her right arm, her bracelet taking the brunt of the blow.

On contact with the bracelet, his suit rippled, and he became visible again.

"_**CM Mode Regeneration Time: 1:29:00." "SF Regeneration Time: 2:11:13."**_

They then began trading punches, hands and wrists meeting each other's blows one by one by one. He was thankful, due to the composition of his suit, it was able to withstand the assault, and was even able to land a hit to her shoulder.

He regretted it for a split second before she then drew back and surprised him by spinning on her heel and delivered a powerful kick to his side.

On impact he stumbled. His side throbbing even through the suit's armoured padding.

"_**SF Regeneration Time: 0:09:27."**_

"Enough!" she said, blue eyes now bright with anger. "It's time to end this."

He straightened up and looked at her.

"_**SF Regeneration Complete."**_

"I couldn't agree with you more… Princess."

Her eyes widened, but she didn't have time to react. _**"WP Mode Activated."**_

He raised his right hand, and blinding green light suddenly burst from it. Expecting an similar attack as before, she once again crossed her arms in front of her, closing her eyes.

"_**CM Mode Active." "SF Mode Active."**_

Only… nothing came.

* * *

**Wonder Woman**

* * *

My eyes flew open instantly. The light was gone, and so was the man gone.

Anticipating another invisible attack, I looked around myself.

But nothing ever came…

I still didn't relax my stance immediately, but I had a feeling it was over, for now.

That power. I'd seen it before – the inhuman speed, the laser-vision (heat-vision?), the bright green light… and the others. How could one man poses such strength? Was he even a man…?

"Who are you…?" I whispered to no one.

But most of all, his fighting skills – he was trained, no doubt about that, perhaps experienced as well. But there was only a handful of people who had ever matched or even exceeded my own skill, and in my mind, one man in particular stood out above the rest…

* * *

_I felt the air rush out of my lungs as my back hit the concrete floor. _

_With a growl threatening to escape my lips, I hitched myself up on my elbows before glaring at the infuriatingly smug male in front of me._

_Cowl, cape and yellow utility belt for once removed, even with his armour, I was all too aware of his powerful physique at the time. _

_What was even more distracting was how he would look at me, midnight blue eyes always guarded but alit with mirth – and at that moment, I was unable to look away from his mouth, the corners of which were upturned at the edges in the slightest._

_It was then when I realized that Bruce Wayne was smirking at me. _

_Damn him._

"_Again." I said stubbornly. I would not give up, I refused._

"_Are you sure about that, Princess?" Bruce asked, hints of teasing obvious in his voice._

_I stood up and readied myself once more. "Again." I repeated._

_I had to stop myself from staring as he chuckled. But, he complied with my demand nonetheless, and all too soon, his stance resembled my own and the expression on his handsome face changed to that of one of focus._

_We began circling each other at reasonable distance, inching closer and closer until one of us would make the first move – as always, I was the first to strike, and like always Bruce reacted, it was safe to say he was expecting it._

_I had to mind my strength around him, but I was tempted at times. He may not have had his belt with him, but it didn't mean he always fought fair either…_

_I wasn't exactly sure how long we fought against each other, each strike and parry a simple reaction – time seemed to be non-existent, all that mattered was that very moment. _

_Unexpectedly, perhaps from a laps of patience on my part, I finally had enough and tackled him to the ground. I straddled his waist as I pinned him down by the shoulders._

_It was my turn to smirk at him, but for some reason, I felt his body stiffen beneath me. I quirked an eyebrow until I saw his face and realized just how our current position must have looked like on the outside. _

_But, soon, his face softened and his eyes lit up again but with a different kind of fire. I felt my throat go dry._

"_Diana…"_

_He reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear._

_At that moment, at the way he was looking at me, I desperately wanted to close the distance between us. Dear Athena, how I wanted to._

_And I would have…_

"_**Ah-hem**__,"_

…_Were we not interrupted._

_My head shot up at the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Standing at the sliding doors of the training room, was Superman, barely able to contain the smile on his face._

_For a second, as Bruce twisted his head, I could have sworn I saw him shoot an annoyed glare at the Kryptonian._

"_I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but there's a mission debriefing in the conference room." He said all-too-casually before simply walking out._

_Bruce groaned as I simply stared at him._

_When he saw this, he turned his head back to me. "We'll finish this later."_

_I smiled down at him, but didn't immediately get off. "Agreed."_

_But little did I, or anybody else, know there wouldn't be a later…_

* * *

I snapped out of my reverie when I felt something prickled at the corner of my eye. I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat.

I took a deep breath and shoved the memory out of my mind. It wasn't the time for that. Right now, I needed to track the three-eyed man down, find out exactly who he is, what he is – with his powers, he could pose a threat if his intentions were… less than heroic.

Besides, it wouldn't be helpful for anybody if I began reliving the past. I was an Amazon, a warrior, and beyond that, I was Wonder Woman, I couldn't allow my emotions to get the best of me. Not again.

* * *

**?**

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

He watched wistfully as she flew off in a relatively safe distance, in the shadows on a fire escape of the opposing building across the street.

When she was gone, he heard a ringing sound from his earpiece.

"_**CM Mode Regeneration Time: 3:44:00." **_

He reached up and pulled off his mask before answering.

Before he could speak, another voice beat him to the punch.

"_Was that really necessary?" _

His lips turned into a half-smile. "Probably not."

"_But let me guess, you let it happen anyway?"_

"Maybe…"

There was sigh on the other side. "_**Bruce**__…"_

"It was an accident?"

"_Yeah right…"_

"It wasn't like I let her see me on purpose, Tim."

"_I know, but aren't you getting a little distracted from… whatever you're supposed to be doing. Speaking of which, why exactly are you in Gateway again? …Besides checking up on Diana."_

"There's a large building here owned by one of the crime families in the city – at daytime they sell imported items, antiques and valuables."

"_And… that's a front?"_

"There's a factory underneath the store that manufactures weapons at night. Until recently, the people who hired me were one of the family's biggest buyers."

"_And these people who hired you, they're not buying there anymore?"_

"Not exactly. They were being ripped off."

"_Ah… so… what are you doing to do?"_

"What I was paid to do."

"_Wait… you're not serious."_

"…"

"_Oh my god. You're serious. You know this is beyond even what I'm comfortable with, right?"_

"Of course."

"_But, judging by how casually you're taking this, you have a plan." _He stated.

"I always have a plan, Tim."

"_Ugh, fine. Do what you need to do, Bruce. Red Robin, out."_

"Insider, out."

Pulling the mask back on, he gave the rooftop one last glance over his shoulder.

"_**SF Mode Active."**_ And with a blur and rush of air, he disappeared.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, here's what you need to know: like I said, this is based on the Batman serial Bruce Wayne: The Road Home – Bruce has come back from his apparent death/adventure across time – Dick's the new Batman with Bruce's son Damien as his new Robin – Thomas Eliot (aka Hush) is masquerading as Bruce Wayne for public reasons – Bruce has now taken up a new anti-hero persona called 'Insider' for I would think research purposes and is a total badass – only a select handful of people know this, including Red Robin/Tim Drake, new Batgirl/Stephanie Brown, Oracle/Barbara Gordon and so on…

Also! I've tweaked one or two things of the original storyline in the comic so it might fit in this, but exactly how will make itself clear as this story progresses. And Bruce may act a little OCC, but that'll sort itself out too.

Right-o! If you have a comment, feel free to leave it behind! See ya later!

Until next time,  
GoddessofDawn out


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for the support! Oh, but please, guys, mind that this is still a semi-AU story (one of my reviewers pointed out a potentially big flaw in the plot…), so, yes, there will most definitely be some inconsistencies when compared to the real comics. Oh, and another thing, in case any of you are wondering, this will be a more Trinity-cantered fic, with some of the Batclan thrown into the mix. And yes, this is ultimately a BMWW-fic too.

Anyway, on with reading! Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I can't take credit for the awesomeness that is the Justice League. DC owns everything.

* * *

**~Chapter Two~  
**_Kryptonite Rings & Movie Nights_

* * *

"_Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier."  
_― Katerina Stoykova Klemer

* * *

**Superman**

* * *

**Watchtower**_**…**_

My eyes briefly scanned the columns on screen, momentarily jumping to the headline in bold before finally stopping over the large colour photo of firemen trying to put out a burning building taken some distance away.

Next to me, I could feel Diana bristling. I looked away from the article on screen and turned to her.

"Diana?" I asked slowly. We were both in the conference room, after she arrived on the station that morning, she practically dragged me away, insisting that she had to talk to me in private.

She was frowning but didn't immediately answer me. She seemed to be scrutinizing the picture until she suddenly pointed at it.

"There," she said, "top left corner. Enlarge it."

I stared at her a second longer before turning back to the computer.

Diana continued staring hard at the screen until I enlarged the photo so that it was stretched out over the entire monitor. Waiting a few moments for the computer to work its magic and the image eventually sharpened and we were able to get a better look at it.

Sure enough, there was a dark figure standing on a neighbouring building.

"That's him," Diana said.

"He's the one that attacked you?"

"I'm not so sure about that, Kal," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Yes, we did fight, but it was brief and he even seemed hesitant at some point, and after he temporarily blinded me, he didn't use that to his advantage and simply left. He wasn't intent on hurting me, so if I had to guess, I would say he was stalling. He wanted to get away from me."

"Okay…" I said, "And you mentioned he had powers?"

She nodded. "Yes, heat-vision like yours, incredible speed not unlike the Flash, and he was able to turn invisible, and that's only the ones I've witnessed."

I was unsure what to make of this as I looked at the man's strange getup. "How is that possible?"

"Again, I'm not sure, but I don't think it was his own abilities. Each time he would do something like that, I heard a strange noise coming from his suit."

"Did he say anything?"

For some reason, I noticed a subtle shift in Diana's posture.

"He did," she allowed, "but it was nothing significant. He disappeared after that. Also, I didn't recognize his voice, which means he's either a newcomer, or he was using a device to change it."

My eyebrows furrowed together. "Do you think he's responsible for this fire?"

"No doubt." Her eyes flickered back to the photo.

"What do we do then?"

"For now, I want to track this man down. I want to know who he is and why he set that fire… and, I was hoping that perhaps you could assist me on this?"

I smiled slightly. "Sure. But what about the others? Should we tell the rest of the League about this?"

Diana hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No."

"What about Dick?" I asked. "He could probably help you with this the better than I can, you know."

"Let's just see how this plays out first. Besides, I'm sure he has his own responsibilities to deal with at the moment."

* * *

**The Batman Family**

* * *

**Gotham City, Wayne Manor…  
**_Evening_

Damien scowled at his current predicament – huddled up in front of the television underneath several ridiculously fluffy (yet not entirely uncomfortable) blankets, with a red, drippy nose and a temperature.

He was barely able to hold back another involuntary sneeze as Dick came in from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn.

"How are you feeling, Buddy?" Dick asked, setting the bowl down on the coffee table.

"Stupid question, Grayson…" Damien grumbled in a meagre nasally voice, shuffling down even deeper in his makeshift cocoon.

Dick looked at him sympathetically. "Sucks that you had to get sick, huh?"

"Tt," he scoffed. "This is utterly ridiculous, why do you insist on babying me? We should be out there right now instead of wasting our time in here."

Dick then held up three fingers in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Damien squinted his eyes before blinking. "Well, I'd be able to tell you if you'd just keep your hand still for a moment."

Dick took that as the answer he needed. "Uh-huh… yeah, you're staying right here."

Damien then turned his slightly blood-shot eyes to his older 'brother'. "Then why are you still here? You aren't sick."

Dick frowned a little. "Geez, Dami, isn't it obvious? Alfred has the night off, and it's not like I was going to leave you here all by yourself."

The ten-year-old looked away. "What about Drake?"

Dick cocked an eyebrow. "You'd let Tim look after you?" he asked disbelievingly.

He huffed indignantly at that. "…Of course not. I mean that I can take care of myself well enough." He said stubbornly. But, without warning, he sneezed abruptly.

Dick's smile returned and he grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table and handed it to him.

Damien reluctantly accepted it with a sniff, much to Dick's amusement. "Not a word, Grayson…" He mumbled before blowing his nose.

"I wasn't going to say anything…"

"Then why are you talking right now?" he deadpanned. His ears were ringing ever so slightly…

Dick laughed before standing up and walked over to the DVD-player, and just then, Tim happened to come in.

"Timmy!" Dick greeted cheerfully before holding up three DVD cases. "Which one do you want watch first?"

Tim looked from Damien to Dick until he noticed the DVD selection and snorted. "_The Avengers_, Dick? Seriously? Haven't you watched that five times already?"

"Seven times," Damien corrected, sniffing again, "And he made me sit through the entire thing with him this morning and later this afternoon while you were away, Drake."

"Hey, I thought you were asleep this afternoon!" Dick protested, pouting.

Damien rolled his eyes. "Believe me, I wish I was."

"Oh, c'mon, even you said that movie was awesome."

"I never said 'awesome', I merely said that on a scale of one to ten, it wasn't completely insufferable. But watching that man with the odd cow helmet get tossed around by that big green monster-thing gets old if you keep repeating it three times."

"But that's the best part!"

Tim chuckled. "For once, I'm with the kid, Dick. Maybe we should start off watching something different tonight."

Dick looked a little sulky at this. "Okay, fine," but he instantly perked up when he pulled out a different DVD instead. "We'll watch this then the _A-Team_."

Tim nodded before going to sit on a plush armchair. "Fine by me."

"Whatever." Damien said dismissively and pulled the blanket closer.

"What are we watching?" Tim asked.

Dick flopped onto the couch next to Damien and grinned. "_Iron Man 3_."

Both Tim and Damien groaned as Dick held up the remote and started the movie.

* * *

**Superman**

* * *

**Meanwhile in Metropolis, Daily Planet…**

I sat at my desk with my fingers intertwined underneath my chin as I watched the small television in the corner of the office, only half listening to Lois while she prattled on about her latest article. We were both staying later than usual so the room for the most part deserted.

When I failed to respond to her question, Lois looked away from her computer and frowned at me. I only really came out of my trance-like stupor when she snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, Smallville, are you listening?"

"Mmm…?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the screen.

Lois sighed. "What's the matter? You've been out of it all night." She said matter-of-factly.

I reached over and took her hand, squeezing gently. "Sorry, love, I guess I'm just a little distracted."

When the screen suddenly changed and showed the fire in Gateway City, I immediately returned my attention to the television. Lois noticed this and turned around herself, her eyebrow raising slightly.

I let go of her hand and stood up before going over to turn up the volume.

"…_local authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of arson. Luckily there were no casualties and at the time of the fire around one in the morning, when the fire brigade finally arrived on the scene, thirteen unconscious men were found in an nearby alleyway. It's unclear even to them how they got there, but all have confirmed to be working in the building before."_

Lois came over to stand next to me.

"_On other fire-related news, once the last of the flames had been extinguished, a special police investigation team found evidence of an illegal weapons manufacturing operation in the basement of the building own by rumoured kingpin, Tony McKinney. All thirteen men were arrested on the spot. We have yet to receive any word regarding the whereabouts of McKinney."_

Lois whistled lowly. "Man, I'd hate to be that guy right now."

Before I could respond, I heard the familiar sound of an alarm going off not too far away.

"Clark? What's wrong?"

I turned to Lois and smiled apologetically at her. "A break-in nearby."

"Do you want to go check it out?"

I nodded and quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back soon."

She smiled at me and, in a blink of an eye, I sped out of the office and to the phone booth out in the hallway.

Once I managed to changed out of my reporter's disguise and into my 'work clothes', I made my way out of the _Planet_ faster than any human eye could see and immediately took to the sky.

Above the clouds, I tuned out the sounds of the city as I zoned in on the alarm.

When I found the source, I flew over, but on my way there, still rather high up, I happened to see something zip from rooftop to rooftop at an inhuman pace.

Pausing, I narrowing my eyes a bit so that I could have a better look at the object, only to realize that it was a man in a black armoured body suit. I recognized him as the man in the picture Diana had showed me that morning, and without a second though, I decided to go down and see who he was myself.

I cut him off before he could get any further. He stopped running immediately and looked up at me. My eyes glowed as I tried to see through his mask, but for some reason, I couldn't.

He stood with his shoulders squared, not saying a word as I came closer.

"I'm guessing you used lead-lining in you mask," I said, my eyes returning to normal, "clever."

He was like a statue, glowing red eyes seemingly impassive but I could hear pick up a slight increase of his heartbeat.

"Not that that's going to help much," I said matter-of-factly, "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way – either you can take off that mask on your own and tell me why you're here, or I can persuade you."

I heard a feint snort coming from him and I could imagine him rolling his eyes. But, he didn't respond and instead seemed to ready himself.

I sighed. "Hard way it is then." I said, anticipating his attack.

Sure enough, he came at me, running at me at a normal speed, but, instead of attempting to hit me, he unexpectedly flipped over me like he would over a springboard, landing catlike behind me.

I turned my head at him, raising an eyebrow. He then pointed at his shoulder.

Taking the hint, when I looked at my own shoulder, I saw a strange silver device attached to the top part of my cape. Before I could react, there was a sudden, ear-splitting high-pitched noise like that of a million angry bees that erupted in my head all at once.

I gasped, clutching at my ears in pain, crumbling onto one knee.

I tried to shake it off and briefly looked over my shoulder at the masked man who was now standing at the edge of the roof.

With a small mock salute aimed at me, he then jumped off onto the sidewalk and sped away in a blur.

Gritting my teeth, I focused my eyes on the device until they glowed red and disintegrated it.

I clutched at my forehead, shaking off the residual ringing in my ears before going after the masked man.

I chased him down, but with some difficulty – not to have it sound like a bad pun, but he could have given Flash a run for his money.

I almost lost sight of him a couple of times as we darted between citizens and cars, but, after we covered a fair distance, leaving a streak of red and black behind us, he finally seemed to lose steam and slowed down near the waterfront.

When he stopped all together near the pier, he turned to face me as I tried approaching him again. He had his right hand behind his back.

"That's some trick you had back there." I admitted.

He raised his left arm again, I reacted first this time and gripped him around the wrist.

He still didn't say a word

"You don't say much, do you?" I asked.

But, then, all of a sudden, I started feeling odd – weak.

The masked man surprised me by speaking, "Sorry about that," he said in a mechanical voice, a bright green light emanating from behind his back.

Bile rose in the back of my throat and my breath hitched, and the next thing I knew, I saw a fist coming at me. Before it slammed into my jaw, I saw a golden ring on his middle finger and a single glowing green stone set in the middle.

The next minute, I stumbled backwards, my jaw aching and something running over my lip. I reached up and was stunned to feel a single trail of blood coming from my nose.

I blinked before returning my attention to the man, only to find him standing a few feet away from me again and right before my eyes, he vanished into thin air.

Slowly, systematically, I stood up, rubbing my jaw. I felt my strength coming back to me, but a different kind of sick feeling still lingered deep in my stomach.

That ring…

It couldn't be.

* * *

**The Batman Family**

* * *

**Later…**

Explosions flashed along with the sounds of violence on screen as the Robins, past and present, sat together in relative quiet. Damien was still huddled up in his blankets and had fallen asleep near the end of the second movie while Dick watched over him out of the corner of his eye.

Tim's attention occasionally flickered between the television screen and his cell phone, munching on popcorn in the meanwhile.

When the doorbell suddenly rung, both Dick and Tim straightened up and looked at each other questioningly.

"Are you expecting anybody?" Tim asked.

Dick frowned. "Not that I know of." He said before standing up. "I'll go check."

Damien stirred, his eyes opening drowsily. "Drake… what's going on?" he asked, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and sniffing.

Tim shook his head. The two of them heard Dick answering the door, Tim couldn't make out what he was saying, but when he came back in, he wasn't alone as standing next to him, both with matching grim expressions, was Superman and Wonder Woman.

* * *

**A/N:** Cliffhanger? Mmm… maybe just a little. Sorry for cutting it short here, but I want to build some tension for the next chapter. The next chapter will be a little less action-packed, but it will be packed full of Batclan goodness.

Right, well, if you haven't figured it out, the encounter with Superman was largely based on _Batman: Hush_ (my favourite Batman comic, ever) – I stole one or two things from that and added an Insider-twist to it. Anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint anybody in here!

**Response to previous chapter's reviews:**

_**mbembet**_: Thank you for being this story's very first reviewer, my friend!  
_**stephanie (Guest):**_ Thank you!  
_**thedwo:**_ Well, I'll do my best not to disappoint you then!  
_**SuperKev34**_: And there will be more coolness to come, I assure you.  
_**Lloyd RPGFan**_: I'll try not to keep you waiting then.  
_**DaisyJane**_: I hope I'm not going to sound too ditzy or oblivious saying this, but I really didn't know that – the comic book place here kind of sucks and has a pretty limited stock as they mainly focus on the sale of action figures and some weird Dungeons and Dragons card game… – anyway, I'll work something out regarding Bruce's 'miraculous return' in a later chapter, but please, if there's another point you'd like to bring to my attention, don't shy away telling me about it, also *laughs awkwardly* what does ROBW stand for? But, I'm glad you like this!  
_**Guest:**_ Thanks man :)  
_**TheWatcher019:**_ I hope you liked this! Clark will appear more often in chapters to come - and about J'onn, apparently, Bruce's suit has a special feature in it that cancels out telepathy, so that could mean that our favourite Martian isn't going to be able to read his mind.  
Guest (2): On it.  
Guest (3): Thank you very much :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm not planning to go beyond ten or so chapters with this, so, everyone concerned that I'm going to spill the beans on Bruce's ID in the next few chapters or that Diana and Clark are going to figure it out on their own, relax for I am the queen of procrastination (huzzah) – all that'll come, but **later** and each on their own super special way.

**Disclaimer:** Me + Justice League = Not Own

* * *

**~Chapter Three~  
**_Chips & Glitches_

* * *

"_The more I see, the less I know for sure."  
_― John Lennon

* * *

**Oracle**

* * *

**Oracle's HQ, The Clock Tower…**

Barbara let out a frustrated sigh, dark rings underneath her eyes as she continued to scan the stream of data on the screen in front of her. Finally looking away, she blinked before rubbing her temples.

When a hand then appeared in front of her face holding a plastic coffee cup, she looked up at the perky blonde before accepting it.

"Thought you could use a break," Stephanie said matter-of-factly. She had a brown bag under her arm and another plastic cup in her other hand.

"Thanks," she said, smiling slightly before accepting it. "What's in that?" she asked, gingerly blowing at the hot liquid before taking a sip.

Stephanie grinned. "The staple food of kings; bear-claws and doughnuts." She said, digging into the bag and taking out a pastry. "There's this new place that just opened across the street. I thought I'd give it a try. Anyway, what you working on?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of 'stuff'?"

"Very hi-tech, very complicated stuff."

"Ah…" Stephanie said simply, taking a bite out of her doughnut, "Sounds… fun."

Barbara made a scoffing sound as she took out a bear-claw. "I wish."

Stephanie squeezed her shoulder lightly before going over and sat on the couch, setting the paper bag aside as she began typing on her cell phone, a smile slowly spreading over her lips.

Barbara noticed this immediately. "What's with that smile?" she asked, turning away from the screen slightly in her wheelchair.

"Oh, no reason…" Stephanie said innocently.

Barbara gave her an amused look, her eyebrow raised slightly. "Uh-huh…"

"If you have to know, Tim just texted me."

"Just texting?"

"Well, flirting a little virtually too… but, you know, same old, same old."

Barbara rested her head on her hand as she hitched her elbow on the arm of her chair. "What's going on between the two of you anyway?"

The blonde sighed wistfully. "Not nearly enough."

Barbara felt a pang of empathy. "I know the feeling."

Stephanie perked up and smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry."

The redhead waved it away dismissively. "It's no big deal. Trust me." She said, returning her attention back to the screen.

Silence set in after that, until, eventually, Barbara let out another frustrated groan.

"That's it. I'm calling it a night. Can I have another bear-claw?"

All of a sudden, there was another voice, "I'd hold off on that."

Stephanie let out a startled squeal when a familiar man with a black suit appeared next to her seemingly out of thin air.

She scowled at the three-eye man. "Bruce! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

Barbara, though not as taken by surprise as Stephanie, did raise her eyebrow. "You didn't trip any of the Tower's security alarms." She stated.

Bruce smirked when he removed his mask. "Was I supposed to?"

"A little warning would have been nice." Barbara said, fully turning her chair so that she faced him. "And, to be honest, I wasn't expecting you back from Metropolis already. I'm guessing you got what you wanted?"

Bruce dug into his utility belt and took out a small, square computer chip.

Stephanie tilted her head slightly. "Question – what's that?"

"We're about to find out." Barbara said as she took the chip from Bruce's hand and turned back to her computer again, inserting the chip before typing away on the keyboard.

All of a sudden, several dozen folders jumped up on screen. Curious, Barbara selected the first folder her eyes landed on and suddenly the picture of a man with a buzz-cut, several piercings on his ear and both his eyebrows, and a tattoo of a scythe on his left shoulder appeared.

"Monroe de Lawrence?" Stephanie read out loud, sounding just as confused as Barbara felt.

"Read on." Bruce encouraged, attempting to take out a doughnut from the paper bag before Stephanie lightly slapped his hand away.

"That's for scaring me." She said matter-of-factly.

Meanwhile, Barbara's eyes skimmed the details of the man on screen. "He's from France. It says here that he got his black belt at the age of fourteen, has a degree in Bioengineering, and has been known to beat up local street gangs with his bare hands in his free time… charming."

She looked at Bruce questioningly.

"There's more." He said.

Barbara then opened the next few files, and all were filled with detailed information about material-artists, geniuses, gymnasts, thieves and small-time vigilantes from countries all over the world.

"Woah." Stephanie said quietly. "They're sort of like us…"

"And very dangerous too." Barbara said, reading another file of a rather brutish-looking German man who had several assault charges to his name.

"Very resourceful." Bruce corrected.

The redhead frowned and turned back to him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Bruce, what's all this?"

"Potential." He answered simply.

"Potential for what?"

"I can't tell you that just yet."

"Then why did you come here?"

"These men and women, I've tried, but let's just say I've been having some difficulty tracking most of them down. I need someone more… talented to help me find them."

"And let me guess, that someone is me?" Barbara said, deadpan.

Bruce nodded.

Barbara sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. But on one condition. You're going to tell me what it's for."

"Deal."

"Uh-oh." Stephanie said unexpectedly, a troubled expression on her face.

Both Bruce and Barbara turned to look on her.

"What 'uh-oh'?" Barbara asked.

"I just got a text from Tim," she said, "You were in Metropolis tonight, right, Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't happen to see Superman when you were there, did you?"

Bruce's expression turned guarded. "I did… why?"

"Well, you'll never believe who just stopped by the Manor tonight,"

* * *

**Wonder Woman**

* * *

Clark went through the vault within the Batcave with a single-minded determination I hadn't seen before as Dick and I stood at its entrance, Dick every once so often wincing slightly when some of the items didn't receive the necessary _delicacy_ they required from the preoccupied Kryptonian.

All the while, sitting near the Batcomputer, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Tim and Bruce's young son, Damien.

"I can't believe my father actually allowed them to just still in and make demands at a whim." The boy whispered, crossing his arms as a scowl darkened his features. He was sitting on the chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

Standing next to him, Tim rolled his eyes. "Ease up there, kid, besides, Bruce didn't just 'allow' anything unless he was sure it was the smart thing to do. Besides, it's not like we can exactly stop them even if we wanted to."

"Tt. They still have no right to make such demands at this time of night." Damien huffed.

Despite myself, I had to admit that he had a point…

"I'd keep my opinions to myself there if I were you," Tim commented snidely.

"Why should I?"

"Two words. Super. Hearing."

The boy hardly looked abashed at this information but fell silent anyway.

Then, finally turning his head away from the scene in the vault, Dick furrowed his eyebrows together. "Run all of this by me again. What is he looking for?" he asked me.

Both our heads snapped when Clark spoke from within the vault. "It's not what's here I'm looking for, it's what's missing that I'm worried about."

I sighed before turning to Dick's confused expression. "A few years ago, Clark gave Bruce a special Kryptonite ring which he could have used for… emergency situations… And Bruce usually kept it in the vault."

"Yeah, I got that part." Dick prompted.

"Well, tonight Kal had an encounter with a man who happened to have a ring like that as well."

"…And you think it's the same?" Dick asked.

"Kal believes so."

"Now see, that's where you lost me." He frowned and looked back into the vault, "How are you sure it's the same? And, no offence, Supes, but practically everyone knows your weakness. Who's to say that this guy didn't get his hands on some kryptonite and just made his own ring?"

"I didn't make up what I saw," Clark said with an added gruffness.

"I know, I know," Dick said quickly, "It's just… if I think about everything that you're implying…"

"I know how this must sound," I said, "but we have to be sure before we can do anything else."

Finally, after several more minutes of searching, Clark eventually let out a frustrated sigh before coming out, his sky blue eyes clouded over and troubled.

"It's not here." He said grimly, "I've covered every inch of the vault, and nothing. Even the lead-lined box I gave him is gone."

"Look, let's not get too anxious just yet," I said hastily, "Dick, does the Cave have any security cameras?"

Dick snorted in mild amusement. "This is the Batcave, of course it has cameras." He said humourlessly. "Tim, if will you, little brother?"

For a moment, I couldn't have helped but noticed the slight hesitance that flickered across Tim's face, but, nodding, the teenager turned and started typing away on the computer, pulling up the Batcave's security feeds.

"Now, who or what are we looking for?" Dick asked as he went over to stand next to Tim who was rewinding the last few days' footage at high speed.

"Tall man, well-built, black armoured suit," Clark said, focusing on the screen.

"Okay…" Dick said hesitantly. "Be a little more specific, please?"

"He doesn't have a cape. He also has three red eyes and a belt almost like yours."

Something lit in Dick's eyes. "Does he also happen to run real fast?" he asked, "And is kind of strong in the super-heroic sense?"

"Yes," I said, surprised, "how did you…?"

Unexpectedly, Dick and Damien looked at each other sharply.

"Grayson…"

"Yeah, Buddy, I know." Dick then sighed and looked back at them. "I know who you're referring to. We actually kinda ran into him two weeks ago… or, should I say he ran into us."

"What did he do?" Clark asked.

"He just got in our way. It all happened pretty quick, but he distracted us long enough, and it's because of him that we let a crime boss get away." Dick explained.

"Dick," Tim said abruptly.

All of us immediately turned our attention back to the screen showing the inside of the vault.

"It happened a week ago." Tim said, playing the footage – the vault doors opened seemingly for no one, but, sure enough, literally coming out of nowhere, he appeared in the mouth of metal chamber.

Tim then fast forward it so that the three-eyed man was shown just coming in and going out, clutching something in his hands. Then, very purposely, the man looked over his shoulder and straight at the camera.

But, quite suddenly, the image just went static.

"What the hell just happened?" Damien demanded.

"Relax." Tim said, "that didn't happen right now, it happened when this guy was here. The camera still work."

Damien scowled at him. "Okay, then, next question, how did he get in?"

"You're guess is as good as mine…" Dick said grimly.

Clark frowned. "Dick, is there any possibility that he could have gotten in on his own?"

"It's impossible. Bruce was always so paranoid about security, I guess I know why now." He then shook his head. "Anyway, no. The only people who could get in is the three of us, Alfred, Babs and Stephanie."

"Well, clearly it's not impossible, Grayson," Damien said. "The proof is there. And we have a problem on our hands."

Dick nodded before looking at Clark and I. "Since this guy knows about the Cave, he probably knows who we are too, so this affects us just as much as it does you now. If you're planning on bringing this guy down, count me in."

"We could use your help." I said, relieved.

"I'll do some research. If this guy's been causing any other trouble, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Dick."

Tim then abruptly stepped away from the rest of us. "You guys have to excuse me. Something just came up."

Dick blinked at him, surprised as Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… okay, sure, Timmy."

Tim nodded just as Damien suddenly sneezed and sniffed miserably. Dick's blue eyes softened and he smiled at him. "Dami, why don't you get to bed?" he suggested. "It's been a long night."

Damien threw him a disgruntled look. "I'm not going anywhere. I want to hear this." He grumbled.

"We're just going to talk for a bit then I'm going to walk Diana and Clark to the front door, you're not going to miss anything, trust me."

"I can still do research on the intruder while you talk." He said stubbornly.

"Tell you what, we'll do that tomorrow, together, okay?"

I couldn't help my smile at the reluctant look on Damien's face as he stood up. "Then you won't start without me?" he asked, sounding a tad unsure.

"Promise." Dick reassured. "We'll start first thing in the morning."

Nodding, Damien walked along side Tim as they made their way to the staircase.

"I'm surprised he relented so soon," I admitted quietly.

"Don't let that fool you. He'll probably try to sneak in later if he doesn't actually fall asleep first," Dick said with a small smile.

"Either way," I said, "he seems to admire you."

Dick shrugged. "He's a really good kid if you look past all the rough edges." He said before shaking his head. "So… are we going to do this? Find this guy?"

Clark and I nodded in unison.

"I'll do some research on my own time," Clark said, "Maybe I can find something at the Planet or on the JLA database."

"I'll help as well," I said before I was stuck with an idea, "In fact, I do believe I know someone who would be able to assist with this matter."

"Who?" Clark asked.

"That man they spoke about on the news, the one whose building was destroyed in the fire? Tony McKinney? He may know something."

"Probably," Clark said and frowned, "but the police still haven't found him yet."

"Then I will."

* * *

**Alfred Pennyworth**

* * *

_**Meanwhile…  
**_**Downtown Gotham**

The bell on top of the door rang dully when the always immaculate figure of Alfred J. Pennyworth stepped through into the dimly-lit diner.

Pausing at the door, pale blue eyes roamed over several faces until he found who was looking for and walked over to the booth at the farthest corner of the room. The table was occupied by a lone man in a black baseball cap and dark grey hoodie, his face somewhat kept obscured as he kept looking down at the table.

He barely looked up when Alfred approached him and eventually slid into the seat opposing his.

"Do you have it?" he asked in a low voice.

Slipping his hand into the pocket of his petticoat, Alfred pulled out a slim envelope. "As you asked, one passport, and one plane ticket – economy class, I'm afraid, sir. It was the better option lest you want to draw any more attention to yourself."

The corner of the man's lips tugged up as he eventually looked up.

At the sight of the scar running across his eye (now brown thanks to contacts) down to his cheekbone, Alfred frowned disapproving.

"I do hope that is just for show, Master Bruce." He said sternly, his eyes narrowing.

"Relax, Alfred. It's fake." He reassured.

"Very well. Now, your plane leaves in three hours, please be sure to make it at the airport in one. Remember, the plane _will_ take off without you if you do not arrive at the correct terminal on time."

Bruce chuckled. "I'm sure I'll manage."

"Also, I've spoken with one of my contacts at Airport security, so he'll let you through without too much difficulty, and as far as what your 'luggage' is concerned, I-"

"Alfred…" Bruce said again.

The greying butler sighed heavily. "Forgive me, Master Bruce, but I do tend to worry too much sometimes. It's a force of habit."

"That's alright. Thank you for going through so much trouble, old friend." He said, standing up.

"Sir," Alfred said quietly, "I… don't suppose it's too much for me to ask of you to join me for a cup of coffee before you leave again, is it?"

Bruce stared at the butler for a minute before he smiled slightly, sitting back down again.

"Of course it isn't, Alfred."

* * *

**A/N:** And thus, this chapter endeth. Up next, tensions and suspicions are stirred, Diana interrogates some gangsters and some good-old-fashioned behind-the-scene bad-guy scheming. Fun, fun, fun.

Now! Since I have most of the plot now worked out, I do need some help, and, I'm calling on any of you readers who are willing to lend it. I am well versed with most of Batman and Superman's villains, but the sum of my common knowledge of Wonder Woman's baddies are limited to only Cheetah and Circes, so… if any of you can give me the name and a little background on a truly kick-ass super villain, I'd really be grateful (male, female, I don't care).

Lastly, as I'm about to write my last couple of tests, I won't be updating as soon as I have for this story, so, don't worry, I'm definitely not giving up on this. Wish me luck! The end is nigh.

**Response to previous chapter's reviews:**

_**mbembet:**_ There will be a chapter soon where Diana and Damien will get to actually talk and interact with each other. But I really hope you liked this chapter.  
_**RKF22:**_ There will be more to come, promise.  
_**aagaberial:**_ I know! That was my favourite part in the whole comic too! That actually got me thinking about this story!  
_**ShadowMajin:**_ Nothing is set in stone on this site, I suppose, but to be honest, I was so focused on just getting the story from point A to point B, I didn't really think too much about detail – if you have any other paragraphs which you would like to read in more detail, please contact me or review again – I'll work on it, okay?  
_**Guest (1):**_ Thank you plenty :)  
_**Lloyd RPGFan:**_ You betcha, friend.  
_**busi.m (Guest):**_ You wound me! Relax, man ;) I'm not gonna spill the beans just yet.  
_**Guest (2):**_ Na-na-na-na-na! (I've always wanted to say that…)  
_**DragonRebornMoL:**_ Thank you, kind reviewer, I shall try my best not to disappoint in what is to come!  
_**Whatanidea:**_ _*Takes a bow*_  
_**LSZero:**_ How do they say? Coulda, shoulda, woulda ;P  
_**TheWatcher019:**_ Where would the fun be if I let something like that happen too soon? Don't worry, dude, I got this thing covered – just sit back and enjoy! Oh, and thank you so much for reviewing!  
_** :**_ That's for me to know and you to find out, friend. Stay tuned.  
_**BartWLewis:**_ There we go! Hope you enjoyed!

Reviews are such lovely little things – make my day, pretty, pretty please. Flames are acceptable, praise is flattering, and suggestion are more than welcomed.

Until next time,  
GoddessofDawn, out


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